Right hepatic artery from splenic artery: the four-leaf clover of hepatic surgery

Surg Radiol Anat. 2016 Sep;38(7):867-71. doi: 10.1007/s00276-016-1617-x. Epub 2016 Jan 14.

Abstract

The anatomy of hepatic arteries is one of the most variable. Accurate awareness of all the possible anatomic variations is crucial in the upper GI surgery and especially in liver and pancreas transplantation. The most frequent anatomical variants are: a replaced or accessory right hepatic artery (RHA) from the superior mesenteric artery (6.3-21 %), a replaced or accessory left hepatic artery (LHA) from the left gastric artery (LGA) (3-18 %) or a combination of these two variants (up to 7.4 %). Herein, we describe the case of a 67-year-old cadaveric organ donor who presented a RHA originating from the splenic artery (SA) associated with both a CHA originating from the celiac trunk (CT) and a LHA originating from the LGA.

Keywords: Hepatic anatomy; Hepatic artery variant; Hepatic vascular anatomy.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Anatomic Variation*
  • Hepatic Artery / anatomy & histology*
  • Humans
  • Liver / blood supply*
  • Liver Transplantation
  • Middle Aged
  • Splenic Artery / anatomy & histology*